Today is Apil 17th. After a day of rest in Burgos (a beauful city; well worth the visit....see images of the Camino), my upper thigh muscles felt in good shape and were in fighing spirit. The first 20km were done in record time just over an hour and I thought today will be a breeze. How wrong could I have been. At 25km, it began to rain heavily, I took cover under a flyover and put on my rain gear:
Showercap (over my helmet), gators (over my shoes and shins), waterproof trousers. waterproof jacket.
With all my gear, I felt fully ready to take on the rain. So on I went singing in the rain. The Camino is largely made up of stoney paths which are delightful for walkers but a bit of a pain in the "arse" (excuse my French) literally for bikers. As the rain came tumbling down, the paths began to deteriorate. As the deterioration continued,it became harder to cycle, as the ground got muddy. My upper thigh muscles were up to it though, they werenot whinging zet despite the uncomfortable conditions. I made it to the next village (slowly but surely). The disc brakes on the bike were not functioning properly, they were covered in stoney mud. I would need to wash the bike down, then as if by magic a fountain appeared gushing with water. As far as I was concerned, this was a miracle....just what I needed right now. So I stopped to wash my bike. The scene was quite comical. Me soaking wet standing with my bike placed in the fountain. There were few villagers around, those who saw me took little notice. I guess they must have seen all sorts from the different pilgrims that have passed through. With the disc brakes cleaned up....the brakes began working again. I was so releaved. The thought of no brakes .......would have added a whole load more pain to my day. I was now totally drenched. My feet were swimming in water and I still had 50km to go. Oddly enough, in no time, the water in my shoes warmed up and I got used to the squelching. On I continued, still singing. The rain was now thundering down, the paths completely degenerated to mud baths. It was no longer possible to cycle so I had to push the bike. At this point, I remember thinking, I never expected I would have to push my bike on a flat path....but heh whatever. The path got so bad that with each step I sunk into the mud and the wheels of the bike got jammed with muddy pebbles from the path. It was now no longer possible to push to bike!. I stopped singing. Had such a disaster befallen me back at home in La Suisse, I would have been cursing in several languages. It suddenly dawned on me that I had not used a swear word despite the rather dire situation. Furthermore, I was not getting angry. In fact with each challenge, I seemed to adopt an "oh well, THIS IS A PILGRIMAGE " attitude.
Not able to push the bike, I would have to carry it for at least 5km (where the map showed the next paved road en route). I carried the bike for about 2km then I couldnot any more. Some Italian blokes also pilgrims advised me to take a trail (which was less muddy) but led to "I do not know where". There was no way I was going to carry my bike on a trail not knowing where the trail led to....you see the camino is sign posted but my bike map a 1:100,00 scale did not have any tracks marked on it...so with a dodgy turn, I could get lost very quickly. Such an adventure I did not need. So I thanked my fellow pilgrims, put my bike down and prayed. I cleaned the bike as best I could using sticks to push off the muddy pebbles from under the mud guards. I then started pushing the bike.....miraculously the wheels turned. They occasionally got jammed but I was thankful, I did not have to carry the bike. 3km further, the path was paved. I could now try to ride the bike. I cleaned my bike shoes (the clips were completly buried in mud) and started peddling.........I thanked God for answering my prayers and started singing again.
My upper thigh muscles were still in good shape, I was moving quickly again. I finally made it to Carrion de los Condes. I looked a sorry sight, my waterproof jacket which was a very cool white was now dirty brown. I looked as though I had been rolling in mud. As I entered the hotel: Monasterie San Zoilo, the staff looked at me bemused. The receptionist showed concern asking if I had fallen off my bike. I replied no but the "Camino" rolled allover me. She smiled.
Lesson to me: No matter how well prepared I am, there will always be unexpected challenges ahead. These challenges I will take in my stride because I know that I can overcome them.